"Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him."
In this part of Nephi's story, he and his brothers had just gone back to Jerusalem to get Ishmael's family. They were fleeing into the wilderness, to be led by the Lord to a land of promise, away from the destruction of Jerusalem . . . so they needed wives if their colony was to survive. Part of the way back to their camp, Nephi's brothers begin to complain along with some of Ishmael's family and they wanted to turn back to Jerusalem. Yep, camping and journeying in the wilderness is hard work. And they had forgotten about God's promises of not only Jerusalem being destroyed, but that they were going to a land of milk and honey, a land blessed above all the other lands of the earth. They lacked the faith that God could help them get there.
When I think of God being able to do all things according to His will, I remember the Red Sea opening for Moses and the Children of Israel, Daniel in the lion's den, Elisha and the chariots of fire, David and Goliath, the fall of Jericho, and many, many other miracles in the Bible.
There have been many miracles in our modern day as Jesus Christ has restored his Church in these last days. There have been many geographic places on this earth where the opposition to build a temple was fierce -- or the opposition to allow missionaries in certain countries was fierce -- but we have always prevailed. There was always a way through, and we know where the miracle came from. The God I worship can do all things.
I feel like there have been miracles in my own personal life because God can do all things if he wills it. If He can move mountains, then He can help me pass a test or soften a heart. One experience in particular that was a cause of much heartache was the bearing of children. When my husband and I were finding out about each other before we were married, trying to see if we were compatible and had similar goals, we talked about a future family and what that would look like. Because he had virtually been an older child, he wanted a lot of kids and I did too.
Well, after having only one child, he changed his mind to my great sorrow. I felt like with each child that followed after, it was a great fight and battle to get another child into our home. It should have been a time of joy and happiness and a time of sharing and anticipating a new life, but it wasn't. It was painful and I was emotionally drained by the time he finally relented to having another child. It was especially frustrating for me because I was completely healthy, willing and emotionally capable of raising more than one or two children. After our third, I knew he wasn't going to budge any more, and it broke my heart. I knew we had the capability and the financial ability to bring more children into our home, and he wanted no part of it. And then. . . .
I started to exercise faith and I started to pray as if everything depended on those prayers. I discovered a wonderful book about getting answers to prayer and I treated that book like a textbook, practicing line upon line, expanding my perspective, gaining hope, and finally submitting to God's will. When you pray for something so desperately, the bottom line is it will only come from God if it's for your good. I had to get to a place where I needed to completely trust in God that maybe it wasn't in my best interest to have that fourth child. When my prayers finally turned from pleading to gratitude for the 3 beautiful children I had, when they turned from begging to my telling God that I would be okay if I didn't have any more children, that is when the miracle occurred. The God I worship can do all things -- and He softened Bill's heart enough for him to suggest that we bring one more child into our home.
I have four beautiful children. They are my greatest treasures. And now that I can look back with 20-20 vision, it was God's wisdom that we stopped when we did. He definitely helped me get to a place where I felt my contribution as a mother was significant and enough, but he also knew what was coming down the road and needed me to be patient.
"And now I, Nephi, being a man large in stature, and also having received much strength of the Lord, therefore I did seize upon the servant of Laban, and held him, that he should not flee."
Although Nephi calls himself a man in this scripture, he is a young man, having been blessed with a large stature. He is still under the care of his parents, so we know he is not a mature adult. In this part of the story, Nephi had disguised himself as Laban, had Laban's servant bring him the plates of brass, then asked the servant of Laban to go with him to the outer city wall, where Nephi's brothers were hiding. The scripture above follows when Laban's servant finally discovers Nephi's true identity and turns to flee. Nephi received "much strength from the Lord."
I have had many experiences where I've felt the Lord strengthening me. I spent a lot of years trying to carry all my burdens alone, trying to be independent. It wasn't until I gained a greater knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ that I learned that I didn't have to go through this mortal experience alone and burdened. Running track in school exhausted me, studying to keep straight A's exhausted me, working at a tree farm as a youth exhausted me, being married to a narcissist exhausted me, and feeling like a single parent, even though married, exhausted me. We all have those "things" that exhaust us and zap our energy and sometimes even our will to keep going. I have had several experiences where I've been in sacred places and was able to hear words of wisdom that buoyed me up to keep going another day. Sometimes it was something I read, sometimes it was something in a piece of music I listened to. I do not believe in coincidences -- so I don't believe that I "coincidentally" heard those things that helped so much. The God I worship knows how to strengthen me in very personal ways, and I have a testimony that He is our best Supporter and Protector. He truly is our Father in Heaven, a perfect Father who knows what my needs are.
"And it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands?"
At this point in the story, Nephi and his brothers had failed twice in their attempt to get valuable written records from an important man, trying to obey a commandment from God. Twice that man attempted to take their lives, but they escaped. Nephi's brothers are afraid because this man, Laban, can command 50 soldiers in a moment and they do not want to go back and try again. I love Nephi's comment "let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth..." There are times when we come in contact with someone who holds quite a bit of influence and power, and doesn't quite use it for good. He can be manipulative, conniving, cheat and perhaps is used to bullying to get his way. But when you pit this man against God and His Son, Jesus Christ, the Creators of everything that is, our enemies really come off lacking. They are nothing. God created the elements of the weapons that men use. God engineered the design of the tongue and throat of which men use to threaten. He designed the brain that men use to think and reason. He holds the power of the elements in His hands -- water, wind, fire, earth -- and uses them to chasten mortals. How puny is man when you think of God in this way? The God I worship is all-powerful, mightier than ALL men and "mightier than all the earth".
Don't forget the story in 2nd Kings of Elisha, when he asks the Lord to open his servant's eyes that he might see that the hills are filled with chariots of fire on their behalf, that God smote the opposing army with blindness. These are not just stories -- these were real events. When we stand on the Lord's side of the line, there is always more power held by those who stand with us, than those who don't.
Enemies might hedge our way at times -- and sometimes they may seem to always win.
But when I remember who God is and what He's capable of doing, then it's easier to exercise the faith necessary to believe that He will help us in our endeavors, He will make a pathway through. We can have our own hills surrounded by chariots of fire, ready and waiting to come forth to rescue us. When we are on the Lord's errand, we can always have faith that "for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." (2nd Kings 6:16) Strive to live in a way that your eyes may always be opened to this vision and peace.
